Have You Seen the Little Horse?

When you are in a foreign land, you can only watch so much TV, even if it is football and just weeks before the Superbowl. The little horse grew restless. He yearned to explore. He pawed at the glass door to the patio until Pete let him out. Strange scents wafted on the breeze. Strange bird calls made him prick his ears. He held his tail at attention--no drooping. He looked to each side. This was the beginning of his adventure in a foreign land. What stories he would have to tell the little kitty back home. What sights he would be able to describe to his friend, the pinto pony. He would have to find the perfect gift for his sister, who was too young to travel on her own. The little horse gave a snort. His withers shivered. He was off to explore.

As soon as he got off the plane the little horse knew he was in a different country. He could not read the signs. He could not understand what was said. He paid close attention to what the other passengers did, followed in line, nodded politely at the customs officials as he handed over his passport. Then he followed the crowd to a comfortable bus.

The little horse stared out the window of the bus as they drove along. The landscape was very dry. Cactus and yucca plants and sage tumble weed grew along the side of the road. Even the riverbeds were dry. But on the other side of the road he could see the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. They drove past tumble-down shacks. They drove past a dilapidated stadium advertising bullfights. They drove past Home Depot. Then they reached the edge of a town. Big hotels blocked the view of the ocean. Finally the bus pulled into the driveway of the little horse's hotel. It didn't take long to check into the room. The little horse was staying with his friends, Pete and Lou and their parents.

He longed to explore but Pete and Lou turned on the TV and began to watch football. What choice did a little horse have in a foreign land? He watched football, too.

Have You Seen the Little Horse?

It must have been the stories of the waving kitty. She had been to many lands. She had explored many cities of the world. The little horse begged and begged to be allowed to travel. His au pair warned him. The world is a big place and a little horse could get lost.

But he had his heart set. He longed for adventure, the sounds of other languages, the taste of exotic vegetation. His mother, who had roamed a bit in her past, said that he could go if he would behave. He must be polite and try to abide by the customs of the lands he went to visit.

His father told him to keep his ears pricked, to look to both sides, and never let his tail droop.

His sister wished she could go too, but she was very young and her mother said no, someone must stay and keep the au pair busy. The pinto pony promised to play with her and tell her stories.

And that is how the little horse found himself looking out the window of a big airplane at terrain he had only imagined in his dreams.